This invention relates to a method for protecting against manipulation of a controller for at least one motor vehicle component, and a controller in which this process is implemented.
In motor vehicles, control devices, such as for example the engine control device or the transmission control device, are currently used to control individual motor vehicle components. The information which is required for operating these control devices, such as programs and data, are stored encrypted or unencrypted in memory modules (E2PROM, flash and the like). The encryption process is independent of a fixed hardware combination of modules and is generally stored in a rewritable storage medium.
The disadvantage of these control devices and the programs used is that individual memory modules can be replaced or the data on the memory modules can be overwritten via a diagnosis interface or via direct access to the memory module. The replacement of a memory module or overwriting of the data and programs stored on this memory module can lead to the motor vehicle components operating with other characteristics. This is done for example in so-called chip tuning in which the memory modules which are assigned to the engine control device are replaced or the programs and data stored on these memory modules, such as characteristics, are changed. In this way, for example the output and/or the torque of the engine can be increased. If this manipulation is done without adapting the other motor vehicle components, such as the turbocharger, oil cooler, or brakes, damage to these motor vehicle components and safety-critical states can occur.